(Newser)
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Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is warming to a deal with private equity investors that would take the iconic Internet player private, reports Reuters. Among the rumored buyers—Chinese online giant Alibaba, Microsoft, and Bain Capital. Experts say going private could solve pressures coming from the market, where investors have punished Yahoo's share price because of the company's lack of growth in recent years. Yahoo accounted for 16% of the US Internet search market in August, down from 19% two years ago.

A Microsoft-Yahoo merger was discussed seriously three years ago, reportedly for around $47.5 billion, but fell through. Yang was largely blamed for the failed merger, but since then his influence at the company has significantly waned. "The Microsoft decision really split the company, with many feeling that Jerry's decision was bad for them personally because he left a lot of money on the table," said a former Yahoo executive.